Being the historical buff I am (I almost double-majored in history), I wanted to see the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum and take a steam train ride. Although it has two depots (East Chattanooga and Grand Junction Station), the main one is at Grand Junction. This is also where the museum is. This is a great family attraction and it represents the Golden Age of railroading. This ride and museum can especially be enjoyed by former railroad workers and railroad enthusiasts.
The TVRM has even dubbed itself has the "Tennessee Valley’s Rolling Machine", since it is the largest operating historic railroad in the South and is the home for the operational 1952 steam locomotive.
The TVR offers a variety of rides such as the Missionary Ridge Local (a fifty minute tour, that goes through a Civil War Era Tunnel), Chickamauga Turn (a four hour roundtrip ride to Chickamauga, Georgia) Dixie Land Excursions (a day vintage train ride on selected weekends, such as during the turning of foliage) and the Winter Polar Express Ride to Chattanooga (has an on-train visit from Santa for the children).
When my partner and I went here, we selected to take the Missionary Ridge Local Ride. It consisted of riding the rail of forty acres of track, originally laid down, during the Civil War. This includes four bridges and going through a Civil War Ear tunnel. After getting to the East Depot, you disembark to view the locomotives rotate on a giant turntable in order to go on the return trip. While this takes some time, a guide will take you to the restoration and maintenance shop.
After returning from our tour, we got a chance to explore the historic trains which are located in front of the station. We saw sleeper cars, office cars, dining cars and a caboose. Some of these allow you to enter them. We took a lot pictures here. For you movie buffs, they have a 1924 Pullman used by Marilyn Monroe in the movie called "Some Like It Hot".
I highly recommend this attraction for three reasons. One, this rail experience and the museum grounds is very family oriented. Besides having the things I aforementioned, it has a deli too. You can dine with your family inside or outside. Two, it has so much history attached to it. And lastly, it is for the budget-minded individuals. An adult ticket for our ride was only $12.50 a person, and a child’s ticket (3-12) was $6.50.